A cleaning and/or disinfecting treatment can be performed on claws of cows, for example. This is particularly of importance in so-called walking stables, in which the cows walk a fixed route, usually twice a day, in order to reach a place where a milking machine and food are present. While walking, the cows come into contact with their own manure and the manure of other cows, as a result of which the cows catch disorders of the claws, such as sores, Mortellaro or foot-rot. These disorders can be prevented by regularly cleaning and disinfecting the claws.
Cleaning and disinfecting can take place manually, wherein the claws of the cows are sprayed by means of a sprayer. However, this is a very labour-intensive process, and consequently a relatively expensive process. Therefore, devices having a treatment zone have been developed, wherein the cow can walk through this zone and be treated there. Such devices offer the possibility of letting the treatment take place in a completely automatic manner.
A device for cleaning and disinfecting claws of cows is known from Dutch patent 1 009 895. The known device comprises a tray on which a cow places her legs when she takes place in the device. In the tray, a spraying system is present, which comprises sprayers for spraying the back legs of the cow with a cleaning liquid and a disinfecting liquid. After the cow has left the device again, dirt such as manure, which has fallen in the tray during the treatment of the cow, is removed. In the process, use is made of sprayers, among other things, which spray from the front to the back during treatment of the cow, wherein the terms “front” and “back” are related to the walking direction of a cow through the device: this is from the front to the back. By means of the sprayers, during the cleaning of the tray, the dirt is sprayed from the front to the back out of the tray via apertures, wherein the dirt ends up behind the tray.
The way in which the device which is known from Dutch patent 1 009 895 is cleaned has at least two important disadvantages. A first important disadvantage is that the dirt ends up behind the tray, as a result of which a cow comes directly into contact with the dirt of previous cows after she has been treated in the device. A second important disadvantage is that cleaning of the tray takes a rather long time, which can not be used for receiving and treating a cow.
A device for cleaning and disinfecting of claws of cows is also known from European patent application 1 099 373. In this known device, cleaning of the tray takes place in another manner than the above-described manner. The tray of this known device comprises a pivotably mounted grid and an underlying sieve. Each time after approximately ten cows have visited the device, the tray is cleaned, wherein the grid and the underlying sieve are put in an almost vertical position with the help of a cylinder, wherein dirt which is present on the grid and the sieve glides downwards. Subsequently, the dirt is washed away and pumped out of the tray by way of the sprayers which are present in the tray.
Besides the option of spraying a useful cleaning and/or disinfecting liquid onto claws of an animal such as a cow, an option of having a treatment tray which is filled with the appropriate liquid, wherein the animal needs to walk through the tray for letting the liquid act on its claws, is also available. In such a case, in order to prevent contamination, it is necessary to refresh the liquid contained by the treatment tray on a regular basis. It is an objective of the invention to provide a device comprising a treatment tray, in which a process of replacing a quantity of liquid which is present in the tray by a fresh quantity may be performed very fast, and in which the risk of contamination between animals is as low as possible. This objective is achieved by a device as mentioned in the opening paragraph, i.e. a device comprising a treatment zone, means for guiding the animals through the treatment zone in a defined walking direction, and a treatment tray, which device further comprises means for tilting the treatment tray and thereby allowing liquid from the treatment tray to drain off from the treatment tray to an area which is located outside of areas which are located in front of the device and behind the device as seen in the walking direction.
According to the invention, the treatment tray has a tiltable arrangement. Such an arrangement allows for a very quick emptying of the treatment tray, as the liquid which is present in the tray immediately pours out of the tray when the tray is tilted. Furthermore, the means for tilting the treatment tray are adapted to tilt the tray in such a way that the liquid flows to an area which is located outside of areas which are located in front of the device and behind the device as seen in the walking direction. In this way, it is guaranteed that the discharged liquid cannot reach the areas where the animals are walking when they are entering and/or exiting the treatment device. Hence, the risk of contamination is as low as possible. It is noted that it is preferred to have means such as a suitable drain covered by a grid for receiving the liquid from the tilted treatment tray and allowing the liquid to flow away from the treatment device.